A weaker Indian rupee is forcing students and families to reassess the financial realities of studying abroad, as currency volatility adds to rising costs and broader pressures already reshaping international student mobility.
India remains one of the world’s largest sources of internationally mobile higher education students, with more than 1.2 million Indians studying overseas in 2025, though rising costs are prompting students to scrutinise overseas education decisions more closely.
In a recent opinion piece for The PIE News, Jasminder Khanna, co-founder of Gresham Global, argued that even modest exchange-rate fluctuations are translating into additional costs running into several lakh rupees over the course of a degree.
The currency pressure comes on top of rising tuition fees, increasing living expenses and stricter immigration policies in several major study destinations, creating a more challenging environment for prospective international students.
The rupee’s decline has also coincided with growing scrutiny of post-study work opportunities and immigration pathways in several destination countries.
Students themselves are increasingly voicing concerns about the financial implications of studying abroad.
“I was planning to go to Germany for my master’s in 2027 and have been saving most of my salary to fund my education abroad,” one prospective student wrote in an online discussion.
The student said they had expected to save around Rs 8 lakh (£6,800) by March 2027 and borrow only a modest amount to cover Germany’s blocked account requirement.
However, the weaker rupee has added roughly Rs 2 lakh (around £1,700) to the amount required, forcing them to reassess their budget and the level of debt they may need to take on.
“This has made me concerned and I’m rethinking my decision of whether to go to Germany or not,” the student wrote.
“I’m also worried about living expenses and how I would finance a second year if costs continue to rise.”
Another student questioned whether rising exchange rates were making overseas education increasingly difficult for middle-class families.
“A US master’s degree could now cost Rs 4–6 lakh more for the same course,” the student said. “With rents in destinations like the UK already running into hundreds of pounds a month, many families are feeling the strain of a weaker rupee.”
According to Saurabh Arora, founder and CEO of University Living, currency depreciation has increased the effective cost of overseas education across tuition fees, accommodation, insurance, travel and day-to-day living expenses, even where universities have not increased fees in local currency terms.
“Affordability has become a much bigger factor in student decision-making,” said Arora.
“Families are also beginning their financial planning much earlier, often 12–18 months before intake cycles, evaluating financing options, scholarship opportunities and expected career outcomes before making final decisions.”
Arora said students are increasingly comparing the overall cost of attendance against employability outcomes and post-study opportunities, helping drive interest in destinations such as Germany, Ireland, France and New Zealand alongside the traditional “big four” markets.
The rupee depreciation has made outcome math inescapable
Sanjay Laul, MSM Unify
“The rupee depreciation has made outcome math inescapable,” said Sanjay Laul, founder of MSM Unify. “Families are asking questions that weren’t standard two years ago: what is the likely salary in year one after graduation? What does the loan repayment look like in rupees if my child stays in-country?”
Laul said the combined impact of currency depreciation, tuition inflation and higher living costs had fundamentally changed the financial calculations many families make before committing to overseas study, with some increasingly relying on larger loans or extended family members as formal co-signatories.
“Students are not becoming cheaper in their ambitions. They are becoming more precise in their calculus,” he said, arguing that families are increasingly evaluating opportunities based on outcomes rather than reputation alone.
Laul suggested that the bigger challenge facing the sector was not currency volatility itself, but the lack of clear and comparable information on graduate outcomes.
“A family taking on Rs 60 lakh in debt to send a student to a program with weak in-country employment rates is facing a risk that no exchange rate movement can solve,” he said.
Despite the financial pressures, Laul maintained that demand for international education remains strong.
“Demand is resilient. The architecture of demand is shifting,” he said. “What changes is where that demand flows, and on what terms.”
